TWO 




S C U R S E S 



UBLIVEBED 



March 8th and 15th, 1863, 



Oi\ THE COMPLETION OF 



A CENTURY AND A HALF 



FROM THE 



lypnisHtiou tat ttxt (Smpt^^tim^l €\xxm\\ 



m 



WEST HARTFORD, CONN. 



BY MYRON N. MORRIS, 



PASTOR OF THE CHURCH. 




WEST HARTFORD: 
PRINTED BY WILLIAM STORER. 

1863. 



TWO 



DISCOURSES 



DELIVERED 



March 8th and 15th, 1863 



ON THE COMPLETION OF 



A CENTURY AND A HALF 



FROM THE 



#vgauisatian of tlK aC0U9v^9ati0mU (&\xmtl\ 



IN 



WEST HARTFORD, CONN. 



BY MYRON N. jV^ORRIS, 

PASTOR OF THK CHURCH. 



WEST HARTFORD: 
PRINTED BY WILLIAM STORER. 

1863. 



Fio^ 



.W3bM6 



fir^ 



li 



West Hartford, APRtr. 7, 1803. 
C^' Rev. M. N. Morris, 

Dear Sir— At a. iiieetiug of the Congregational Cliurcli in this town, 
of which you are pastor, held on the 3d inst., the undersigned were appointed a 
Committee to communicate to you the following vote, which was unanimously 
adopted by the Church : — 

" The members of this Church and Congregation having listened with great satis- 
faction to the recent interesting discourses of our pastor, in commemoration of 
the One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Organization of the Cliurch ; 
and feeling that these Sermons ought to be preserved, as an important link in 
the History both of the Town and the Church ; — therefore it is 

" Voted, That the thanks of this people are hereby tendered to Rev. Myron 
N. Morris for his valuable Historical Discourses, and that he be respectfully re- 
quested to furnish a copy of the same for publication.' 

In discharging the pleasing duty imposed on us by tiie Cliurch, we must be 
allowed to add, that our individual wislies coincide cordially with those of our 
brethren; and we sincerely hope you will not hesitate to comply with the request 
expressed in the vote. 

We are, dear sir, 

Vours in Cliristian fellowship. 

HENRY TALCOTT, 
EDWARD BRACE, 
WILLIAM STORER. 



Mr. Henry Tai.cott, Dea. Ehward Brace, and Mr. Williaji Sturer, Committee : 
Dear Brethren, 

The Discourses, of wiiich you request a copy, were prepared without 
a view to their publication. My original design was simply to present, in a single 
discourse, such facts in the history of the Church and Society as I could immedi- 
ately gather from my limited sources of information. But as I proceeded, I found 
myself exceeding the proper limits of one discourse, and, not having time to re-write 
and condense, concluded to add another. In publishing, it might be an improve- 
ment to reduce the two to the foiin and ordinary length of a single sermon ; but I 
thought it might please my people better to i-eceive thein in print just as they lieard 
them from the pulpit. I therefore place them in your hands with very little altera- 
tion. May they serve to recall grateful memories of the Past, and aLso to keep in 
mind the scenes through which we are now passing. 

Yours in Christ, 

M. N. MORRIS. 
West Hartford, April 9, I8G3. 



DISCOURSE I. 



ECCLESIASTES 1 : 4. 

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth 
abideth for ever. 

The race of man continues, but the period during which any 
one generation or individual of that race remains on the earth, is 
very brief. Men come on to the stage full of hope and energy ; 
they form their plans, and prosecute their enterprises, as though 
they were always to remain. But after even a brief century 
has passed, we can learn who they were and what they did only 
by searching among the records and monuments they have left 
us ; and these are too often so scanty as to aiford us but little 
knowledge. The divine plan is, not that the inhabitants of the 
earth should remain the same from age to age, but that they 
should come in successive generations, and develop their powers, 
form their characters, and perform their work in their appointed 
time, and pass away, and make room for others to come after 
them. And this is a most wise arrangement, excellently adapted 
to promote the great ends of life. It is favorable to improvement 
and progress in that which is good. When people have passed 
the period of youth and early manhood, they become conserva- 
tive, and as they grow old, they are more and more averse to 
chancre. This indeed is a barrier against the sudden overturnino; 
of the old foundations ; but men live long enough now to hold in 
check the rash impetuosity of youth ; and then they pass away 
in season to allow of the gradual introduction of such changes 



as the coming generation, who are not wedded to old customs, 
may deem to be desirable. 

The passing away and the coming in of successive generations 
is favorable also to the moral condition of society. Had the gen- 
erations that lived before the flood continued to this day, there is 
no conceiving of what the wickedness and corruption, that pro- 
voked Heaven to destroy them, would have grown into ; or what 
would have been the evil result, had all the wicked men that have 
established themselves in wealth and power been permitted to 
strengthen themselves from age to age, and every throne of ini- 
quity that framed mischief by a law continued to oppress and 
work unrighteousness to the end of time ! But now how differ- 
ent ! The men of power, who have held a rod of terror over 
the heads of the oppressed people, have died, and others have 
taken their places to begin anew, for good or for evil. 

Those who have gathered to themselves immense wealth, so 
dangerous to themselves, to their children, and to the commu- 
nity, have gone to the grave, and their over-grown fortunes been 
divided and scattered. The old sinner, who has been a curse to 
his neighborhood, destroying much good, and working all man- 
ner of evil, has after a few years passed away, and that ungodly 
company who had gathered around him and strengthened him in 
wickedness, or rather have drawn from him their own power for 
evil, are broken up, and have lost their influence ; while the 
good seed which the faithfid have long been sowing, with tears, 
in the fruitful soil of childhood and youth, springs up, and the 
whole moral aspect is changed. 

It is surely better that our race should be ever renewed by a 
constant supply of fresh and youthful blood ; better tliat they 
who would do good should have this plastic material to work 
upon ; better that when men have come to maturity and wisdom, 
and have lived long enough to mould aright the coming genera- 
tion, and to impress upon it the right image, they should pass 



away, and leave the world to their successors. And this is a 
beneficent arrangement for even those who depart ; for the right- 
eous go to their reward, and the wicked, bv remaining, would 
only fill up, more largely, the measure of their iniquity. 

It is now a hundred and fifty years since the first pastor of 
this church was ordained ; and probably the date of the organi- 
zation of the church corresponds precisely, or very nearly, with 
the commencement of this first pastorate. By the favor of God, 
the church has continued to the present time, exerting its happy 
influence on this community, and on the world. But they who 
established it, and were its original members, are all gone. Their 
children are all passed away. None of their grand-children re- 
main. Four generations have come upon the stage, acted their 
important part, and mostly made their exit. And the fifth, and 
perhaps the sixth, generation — the present membership of the 
church, are now having their day — of responsibility, and of privi- 
lege. The first three pastors, who led this flock through a period 
of a hundred and twenty-five years, now sleep in the midst of 
their moulderino; congregations. 

You very properly feel a deep interest in these departed gene- 
rations ; they were of your own kindred, your fathers and 
mothers. They are gone, but they lived not in vain, nor to 
themselves alone. They have left us this most precious Christian 
heritage, for which we have every day occasion to bless God. 

Let us go back to the beginning, and follow them, as far as 
we are able, through their toils and prayers and conflicts, and 
notice the principles that guided them, and the good hand of 
God upon them, and see how this goodly heritage came to us. 

In regard to the time when the settlement of this part of the 
old town of Hartford was commenced, how the first inhabitants 
lived, and what privileges they enjoyed, I have at hand no means 
of information. The earliest Society Records extant are in an 



8 

unbound, and somewhat mutilated volume, marked " No. 2," 
and tliey commence Dec. 8, 1736, more than twenty-five years 
after the Society was incorporated. And there are recorded only 
two votes passed by the church dViring the ministry of its first 
pastor, and these were about thirty-six years after his ordination. 

It appears that in accordance with a vote of the proprietors 
of the undivided lands in the West Division of Hartford, passed 
Jan. 30, 1672, there was laid out, by a committee, in November, 
1674, a strip of these lands, next to Farmington bounds, a mile 
and a half wide east and west, and extending north and south 
across the town. This strip was divided into lots, running en- 
tirely across it, each lot being a mile and a half in length, and 
varying in width from three to ninety-one rods, according to the 
interest of each of the proprietors, of whom the names of sixty- 
eight are recorded, with the number of the lot assigned to each. 
The eastern boundary of Farmington at that time was the road 
passing north and south by Mr. Edwin W. Belden's. 

The Ecclesiastical Society of the West Division in Hartford 
was incorporated by act of the legislature, passed at its May ses- 
sion in 1711, in accordance with a petition* — signed by twenty- 
eight residents — presented at its session in October of the pre- 
ceding year. The boundaries of the Society were, Windsor on 
the north, Farmington on the west, Wethersfield on the south, 
and on the east, " the east ends of the West Division lots." It 
was afterward enlarged so as to include a part of Farmington, 
and also extended considerably on the east. In 1806, its name 
was changed by the legislature to the Society of West Hartford. 

From 1736, the time when the records commence, onward, we 
find the Society pursuing what seems to have been its established 
course, — meeting annually in the month of December, appoint- 
ing a Committee " to take care of the schools and other pruden- 
tials of the Society," directing how many schools shall be taught, 

* See Appendix. 



9 

in what manner, and how h:)n£i;, and instructing their Commit- 
tee to carry their views into effect ; voting what they called the 
" minister's rate," and the " charge rate," the latter generally 
about two pence on a pound, for school purposes and other 
charges ; and also voting from year to year the amount to be 
appropriated for the minister's salary.* 

The plan of having all the schools in a town or Society sup- 
ported by one common fund, raised by tax, and all under the 
control of one Board of Education, is not a modern one. Your 
fathers here adopted it, — as did the people of the other towns, for 
it was a State requirement, — and followed it down to within about 
fifty years of the present time. The Society built all the school- 
houses, and assumed the whole direction and support of the 
schools. In 1746, it was " voted that there be three school- 
houses built in this parish, at the cost of the Society ;" and the 
Committee were directed to dispose of the old school-houses for 
the benefit of the Society. Our fathers were deeply impressed 
with the importance of education, and of schools as a necessary 
means of education. They were not satisfied with six or eight 
months schooling in the year ; they voted fi'om year to year, that 
a school be kept eleven months, but more frequently twelve 
months in the year. Previous to about 1745, the schools were 
taught a part of the year by females ; afterward, for a long time, 
by males only. In the latter part of the last century, we find 

* The ministers were settled upon a specified salary, but such were the fluctua- 
tions of the currency, that it was varied from year to year in order to make it cor- 
respond, as nearly as practicable, in value, to the amount which had been pledged. 
Thus the Society voted to their first minister sums varying from £100 to £600 a 
year; one year £60 in silver, and his wood, or £412 "Old Tenor," and his wood. 
And when the second pastor was settled, his "settlement," and salary, were to be 
paid in currency equal to silver at six shillings eight pence an ounce. And in 
1777, it was "voted to pay half of Dr. Perkins' rate in provisions,'" at a price 
which had been recently established by law ; and the following year, to give him 
£100 in provisions, or £300 in Continental bills. 

2 



10 

districts coming more distinctly into view, and the Society voting 
school privileges to the " East Side," and to the " West Lane." 

The very intimate relation between the Ecclesiastical Society 
and the Church, between religion and education, renders these 
somewhat secular topics quite appropriate to my purpose. It 
was the glory of the fathers of New England, — the glory also of 
the fathers of West Hartford, — that they placed their social 
and ]3olitical fabric upon the foundation of Religion and Educa- 
tion ; the Church and the School-house, side by side, early 
planted, equally and liberally sustained, — both essential to the 
well-being and prosperity of the community. A religious and 
intelligent people will acknowledge and perform their duties, 
will know and assert their rights. This Society was formed for 
the purpose of maintaining and enjoying religious and educational 
privileges. Your honored forefathers, who petitioned for this 
Society, might have saved themselves all this trouble and expense, 
and stayed at home on the Sabbath, as some now do, and let 
those who wanted schools establish them, or send their children 
through the wilderness to the city ; but what in that case would 
West Hartford have been now ? Instead of this goodly place, 
this intelligent. Christian and highly favored community, what a 
den of ignorance, and heathenism, — to help the rebels in their 
infernal work ! A very sink of wickedness, drawing into itself 
all the vileness and corruption of the city and surrounding 
country ! 

As early as May, 1797, a unanimous vote was passed by the 
Society, to take measures to be set off as a town. This matter 
was prosecuted ti^om time to time, and after a lapse of fifty-seven 
years, viz. in 1851, the object was obtained, and the results thus 
far have been happy. 

When the meeting-house in which the fathers first worshiped 
here was built, I am not informed. Some of you remember 



11 

what I suppose to be that same old building, with a steep roof, 
standing a little west of this house, and occupied as a barn. 

In a Society meeting, Dec. 23, 1741, seventy members being 
present, it was voted, fifty-five in favor, to build a new meeting- 
house, fifty-five feet in length, and forty feet in width.* The 
house was raised in June following, and taxes laid at difterent 
times to meet the expense. The building committee wex'e. Col. 
John Whiting, Capt. Daniel Webster, Moses Nash, Timothy 
Seymour, and Stephen Hosmer.f As the expenses of the Society 
were always raised, not by renting or taxing the seats, but by a 
tax on the property of the Society, the delicate work was assigned 
to a committee to " seat the house," or to designate the places 
where each family should sit. The galleries were sometimes thus 
"" seated." That old house must be endeared to many of you by 
very tender recollections. There your fathers and mothers wor- 
shiped. There you were publicly consecrated to God in baptism. 
There, in childhood and in youth you listened to the Word of 
Truth from revered lips, and there you experienced the life- 
giving power of the Holy Spirit. It was your Zion, of which it 
may be said, " this and that man was born in her." And there 
you stood up before the congregation, and entered into covenant 
with God and His people. Nearly thirty years ago, that house 
passed away to make room for the pleasant one which we now 
occupy. 

On the 24th of February, 1713, Mr. Benjamin Colton was 
ordained and installed pastor of this church, which, as I have 
already remarked, was organized on that same day, or not long 

* Our present bouse is sixty-eight feet in lengtb, and fifty -six feet iu width. 

t In 1754, it was " voted to cut up all the seats in the body of the bouse, and 
make them into pews." Seats were subsequently prepared in the aisles, to be oc- 
cupied by the children. 



12 

previous.* It was designated as the Fourth Church of Christ in 
Hartford, — the First and Second being what are now the Center 
and the South Churches in Hartford, and the Third the Church 
in East Hartford. It was afterward more generally called the 
Church of Christ in West Hartford. Its original members were 
twenty-nine, — seventeen males and twelve females. Mr. Col ton's 
active ministry continued about forty-three years, and the earlier 
part of it appears to have been quite prosperous, scarcely a year 
passing without more or less additions to the church. In the re- 
vivals of 1735 and 1741, this church shared to a considerable 
extent. In 1735, there were thirty, and in 1741, forty-six per- 
sons added to the communion of the church. There had been 
admitted in 1719, seventeen, and in 1729, fourteen members. 
The whole number added during Mr. Colton's ministry, was two 
hundred and ninety. 

Mr. Colton, as I have understood, was a native of Long- 
meadow, Mass. He graduated at Yale College in 1710, in a 
class which had but two members, — one besides himself, at the 
time of graduation. He was twenty-three years of age at the time 
of his settlement. He published two sermons in 1735, and after- 
ward an Election Sermon, which was preached May 12, 1737, 
on the Danger of Apostacy. He must have been a man of a se- 
rious turn of mind, sound in doctrine, and familiar with the 
Scriptures. Toward the latter part of his ministry, there was a 
very unhappy state of dissatisfaction and division among his peo- 
ple. Frequent and unpleasant meetings of the Society were 
held ; committees of conference were appointed ; and the Asso- 
ciation repeatedly applied to for advice. In his Half-century 
Sermon, Dr. Perkins said, — " During the Rev. Mr. Colton's 

* The ministers called to assist at his ordination were, Rev. Messrs. Timothy 
Woodbridge, pastor of First Church, Hartford; Thomas Buckingham, of South 
Church, Hartford ; Samuel Whitman, of Farmington ; and Timothy Woodbridge, 
Jr., of Simsbury. 



13 

ministry, the church and parish, as appears from authentic docu- 
ments, liad a most unhappy period, for four or five years, of very 
great and cruel divisions and contentions, whicli could not be 
healed or adjusted, but by calling in two whole Consociations, — 
that of Hartford County, and Litchfield County," At leno-th, 
enfeebled in health, Mr. Colton yielded to the pressure that was 
upon him, and entirely laid aside the duties of the ministry. This 
was two or three years before his death, which occurred March 1, 
1759, in the seventieth year of his age. His descendants have been 
well and numerously represented in the ministry of the gospel. 

The second pastor was Mr. Nathanael Hooker, Jun. In 
May, 1757, the Society " voted to give Mr. Nathanael Hooker, 
Jr. a call to preach the gospel amongst us, as a probationer in 
order to settlement." Two months later, in a meeting of the 
Society, " the question being asked whether we are so well 
pleased with Mr. Hooker's performances in time past, as to desire 
to proceed further with him in order to settlement, voted in the 
affirmative." After another month, it was " voted to continue 
Mr. Hooker here on probation." In two months more, a call 
for settlement was made out, which he accepted, and he was 
ordained on the 21st of December, 1757, a little more than four- 
teen months previous to the death of Mr. Colton. His ministry 
was short, — 'Continuing only twelve years and a half, from his 
ordination to his death ; but it appears to have been pleasant and 
use^il, being characterized by great harmony among the people. 
Fifty-nine were added to the church by profession during his 
pastorate. 

Mr. Hooker was the son and eldest child of Capt. Nathanael 
and Eunice (Talcott) Hooker, — and was a descendant of Rev. 
Thomas Hooker, the first minister of Hartford. His mother was 
a daughter of Hon. Joseph Talcott, for seventeen years — from 
1724 to 1741 — Governor of the Colony of Connecticut. He 
was born in Hartford, Dec. 15, 1737, was graduated at Yale 



14 

College in 1755, and was licensed to preach, Feb. 1, 1757, by 
the Hartford North Association. At the time of his licensure, 
he was but a little more than nineteen years of age, and he was 
installed pastor of this church within less than a week after he 
had completed his twentieth year ! They had no occasion to re- 
gret the choice.* 

From what I can learn, Mr. Hooker was slender in person, 
and in physical strength, but endowed with talents of a very high 
order. The last years of his ministry, he suffered greatly from 
fi'om disease.' His sermons, of which two at least were published 
during his life, and six after his death, — all preached to his own 
people, — exhibit good taste, easy expression, strength and culti- 
vation of mind, and much reflection on the Scriptures and Di- 
vine providence. He was a man of genial disposition, and great 
wit. In his epitaph we read, — " He was a facetious gentleman, 
of an open and benevolent disposition, a universal scholar, exem- 
plary Christian, good minister, a celebrated preacher, and a warm 
advocate for civil and religious liberty ; a kind husband, tender 
parent, and a hearty friend to mankind. He lived in high esteem 
with his church, and in reputation with all who knew his real 
worth, and died extremely lamented, June 9, 1770, in the thirty- 
third year of his age, and the thirteenth of his ministry." His fu- 
neral sermon was preached by his friend. Rev. Joseph Perry, 
pastor of the First Church in what is now South Windsor, who 
also pubhshed the six sermons before alluded to. His wife .was 
Ruth, daughter of Timothy Skinner, of this place, and grand- 
daughter of Rev. Benjamin Colton, his predecessor. He left one 
daughter, the mother of Mr. Nathaniel H. Whiting. 

After the death of Mr. Hooker, the Church and Society fell 



* Picture the scene of his ordinatiou. Kev. Messrs. Elnathan Whitman of the 
South Church in Hartford, Hezekiah Bissell of Wintonbury, Joshua Belden of 
Newington, Edward Dorr of the First Church in Hartford, Eliphalet Williams of 



15 

into the somewhat common misfortune of vacant churches, of 
hearing numerous candidates. In those days, it was no trifling 
matter to select even a candidate for settlement. Here, there 
were sixteen brought vipon the ground for trial. And they were 
all such excellent men, that each had his firm adherents. It was 
true here, as in the Church of Corinth, — one was for Paul, and 
another for Apollos, and a third for Cephas, — while we trust all 
were really for Christ. In their divided state, the Society voted, 
June 3, 1771, to apply to the Association for advice, and in- 
structed their Committee of Supply to follow sueh advice as 
should be given. They were advised to dismiss all former can- 
didates, and seek for some suitable person who was a stranger to 
them all. 

They sent for Mr. Nathan Perkins, a young man who had 
recently been licensed by the New London Association of Min- 
isters. Dr. Joab Brace, who published an interesting sketch of 
his life, says he preached his first sermon here on the first Sab- 
bath in January, 1772. Dr. Perkins himself informs us that he 
preached about nine months on probation. His call, which was 
given in May, was not entirely unanimous, several men of influ- 
ence being opposed to his settlement. He appears to have felt 
great difficulty in deciding the important question. His answer 
of acceptance is dated Aug. 28, 1772, and is the very personifi- 
cation of caution, — every circumstance relating to the question 
being most carefully considered in all its bearings. And it is only 
after receiving the advice of ministers and friends, far and near, 
that he comes at length to the conclusion that it is his duty to ac- 
cept the call ; — and even then, he reserves the right, in a certain 
contingency, to revoke his decision. His ordination took place on 

East Hartford, Ebenezer Booge of Northiugton, and Timothy Pitkin of Farming- 
ton, with the messengers of the churches, — all assembled to lay reverend hands on 
the head of the boy, whom this people had chosen to be their religious teacher a,ni 
spiritual guide, — a youth of only twenty years ! 



16 

the 14tli of October following, the last day of September having 
been set apart, by vote of the Society, as a day of fasting and 
prayer. I have desired to ascertain the action of the Church 
during these proceedings, but the records covering this period 
appear to have been removed, or lost, from the book.* 

The divisions and contentions, after a few years, seem io have 
subsided, and there stands out before us this long pastorate — of 
sixty-five years, almost unparalleled in history, remarkable alike 
for the general harmony of the people, and the success of the gos- 
pel. There, were times when all was not quiet, as for example, 
about 1794, when several members of the church, including one of 
the deacons, withdrew and joined the Quakers. Occasionally 
members would become dissatisfied, fi'om one cause or another, 
and " sio-n off" ft-om the Society. But such things, and worse, are 
to be expected in a world like this. But the Church, on the 
whole, pursued " the even tenor of its way," and was greatly 
prospered. In reviewing the first fifty years of his ministry. Dr. 
Perkins says, " The peace and union of this Church and Society, 
for all the long period of my ministry, have been never inter- 
rupted, and uncommonly great, — greater than any other that I 
know of in our land. Where can you name a Church and So- 
ciety, as large and numerous as this, so perfectly united and or- 
thodox, for such a great length of time as fifty years, and favored 
with so many seasons of revivals of religion ?" This is certainly 
saying a great deal. 

Dr. Perkins, in his Half-century Discourse, preached in 1822, 
mentions six seasons of revival as having then occurred during 



* Miuisters pn-scnt on Council, — Kev. Messrs. Elnatlian Whitman, of the South 
Church, Hartford ; Eliphalet Williams, of East Hartford ; Hezekiah Bissell, of 
Wmtonbury, now Bloomfield; Timothy Pitkin, of Farmin^ton; Joshua Belden, 
of Newiugtun ; Thomas Russell, of Windsor ; Joseph Perry, of East Windsor, 
now First Church in South Windsor; George Colton, of Bolton; Andrew Lee, of 
Hanover, in Lisbon ; and John Staples, of Westminster parish, in Canterbury. 



17 

his ministry ; tlie first in 1787, as the fruits of which, eighteen were 
added to the church ; tlie second, wliich was general in the par- 
isli, and of remarkable power, occurred in 1799 and 1800, fol- 
lowing that long ])eriod of universal declension in vital piety and 
morals, and prevalence of error, profanity, and infidelity. " Re- 
ligious meetings were held, besides meetings for the anxious, al- 
most every day in the week." The work continued a year and 
a half, and resulted in the hopeful conversion of one hundred 
and forty souls. The third, in 1807, was confined to a single 
neighborhood, and twelve obtained hope of forgiveness. In the 
fourth, which occurred a year or two later, seventy indulged 
hope in Christ. The fifth was in 1815 and 1816, and resulted 
in the addition of twelve members. The sixth was that memo- 
rable revival of 1821, wliich extended over a large part of the 
State. During this year and the following, seventy professed 
their hope in Christ ; and in 1829 and 1830, forty-three more. 
There was another season of great religious interest in 1831, and 
during that year and the two following, fifty-six made profession 
of their faith. 

Dr. Perkins was the son of Matthew and Hannah Perkins, 
and was born in Lisbon, then a part of Norwich, May 12, 1748, 
and was consequently in his twenty-fifth year when he became 
pastor of this church. He graduated at the College of New 
Jersey, in 1770. During his last year in College, there was a 
powerful work of grace in that institution, and his own mind was 
so wrought upon, that for three months it affected his bodily 
health. But at length he found peace in believing. He received 
the honorary title of D. D. in 1801, from his Alma Mater. You 
will hardly expect me, who never saw him, to attempt a delineation 
of his character, in the presence of so many who grew up under 
his ministry. To those of you, however, who never knew him, 
a few words may be ventured. From what I have been able to 
gather respecting him, he rises before ray mind, as a large man, 



18 

but not tall, of unusual physical vigor, which he retained in a 
good degree to extreme old age, of great dignity, and a certain 
precise formality and condescending politeness of manner, with 
sufficient self-esteem to appreciate the respectability of his posi- 
tion, and to have the comfortable feeling that he was filling it 
very creditably ; a man who did not deem it sinful to enjoy, 
moderately, the good things of Providence, and was not inclined 
to disturb others in their innocent enjoyments. He was a scholar, 
and Christian gentleman of the old school of manners, well in- 
formed on general topics ; a man of remarkable wisdom and pru- 
dence, exceedingly careful about saying any thing, or encourag- 
ing any thing, likely to stir up strife ; possibly he may sometimes 
have preserved quietness in the community, by suppressing the 
agitation of some subjects that ought to have been discussed, and 
so allowing evils to grow up undisturbed, and to become popular ; 
but he knew " how great a matter a little fire kindleth ;" he re- 
membered the divisions in which he commenced his ministry, 
and had seen churches rent by dissensions about matters of tri- 
fling importance, and this evil he carefiilly avoided. On one 
subject he was decided, — to give no encouragement to the com- 
ing in of other denominations. But in liberality of sentiment, 
he was far in advance of most ministers of his day, and came 
much more readily into the spirit of revivals, and of judicious 
reforms. He was a decided friend and advocate of revivals ; he 
early introduced the Sabbath School ; and came finally with 
good grace into the temperance movement. If he sometimes 
seemed to be sole director in the affairs of the church, it was the 
custom of the age. He moved among his people as a father, in 
no danger of letting himself down by undue familiarity ; the 
children feared him, yet loved to see him enter the school, and 
when his lips graciously uttered a word of praise, were delighted ; 
and they grew up with the feeling, — There is none like Dr. Per- 
kins I And so he led them, and kept them together, until at 



19 

length, for many years, all the people of his parish, who were na- 
tives of the place, had been born and trained up under his minis- 
try. They knew no other pastor, and he knew no other people. 

As a sermonizer. Dr. Perkins was methodical and instructive, 
his style easy and diffuse, rather than forcible, his thoughts rather 
expanded than condensed. His sermons were chiefly of a doc- 
trinal cast, but they had a decidedly practical bearing. Many 
regarded his extempore discourses, in which he had a ready ut- 
terance, as more interesting than those which were written. 

Dr. Perkins held the Calvinistic views of theology, and had 
little sympathy with any new forms of doctrinal statement. It 
was at his suggestion, and earnest request, that the first meeting 
of ministers was held, which resulted in the formation of the 
Pastoral Union, and the establishment of the Theological Insti- 
tute of Connecticut, at East Windsor Hill. He laid the corner 
stone of that institution. May 13, 1834. 

He was perhaps the first Home Missionary in the country. In 
October, 1788, the Hartford North Association adopted " a plan 
for sending a missionary into the new countries for ten weeks." 
Mr. Perkins received the appointment, which he accepted, and 
doubtless performed the service. His field of labor was probably 
in what is now the State of Vermont. 

Dr. Perkins assisted more than one hundred and fifty youno- 
men in their preparation for college, and had under his care, at 
different times, more than thirty theological students. He was 
respected and celebrated as a wise, judicious and able pastor, but 
especially as continuing his work so long and energetically in the 
same church. 

. Besides a volume of twenty-four sermons published in 1795, 
he published four letters on the Origin and History of the Ana- 
baptists, and no less than fifteen discourses, delivered at ordina- 
tions, funerals, and on other occasions. Rev. Caleb S. Henry 
was his colleague for nearly two years from the Spring of 1833, 



20 

and Rev. E. W. Andrews the last few months of his hfe. With 
these exceptions, he performed the duties of his office almost to 
the last. He died of paralysis, Jan. 15, 1838, in the ninetieth 
year of his age. His funeral sermon was preached by his former 
parishioner and pupil, Rev. Joab Brace, of Newington. 

About two years after his settlement, he married Catharine, 
daughter of Rev. Timothy Pitkin, of Farmington, and they had 
three sons and three daughters. 

We have now come down to the present generation, to events 
in which yourselves have borne a part. I have already taken up 
too much time, and will stop right here. I wish briefly to chron- 
icle the principal events which I have left, and also to speak of 
some things relating more directly to the principles and influence 
of the church. And I will endeavor to be prepared the next 
Sabbath afternoon. 

The fathers and mothers, for successive generations, have 
passed awav ; and how much do we, who have taken their 
places, owe them ! Not merely that they came into these out- 
skirts of the town, and caused the wilderness and the solitary 
place to be glad, but they have done this in a spiritual sense, 
giving us Christian institutions. These pleasant, and in some 
cases, beautiful abodes, and Christian homes, are not an original 
creation of ours, but a precious inheritance. Our faith and wor- 
ship, and our educational ideas, are traditional and historic. And 
they have come to us, enriched and perfected by the gathering 
wisdom and labor and piety of these departed generations. Let 
us embalm the memory of these ancestors in our grateful hearts, 
and thank God for them. And let us also, as I verily believe 
we shall with the blessing of Heaven, give our descendants occa- 
sion for more hearty thanksgiving on our account, 



DISCOURSE II. 



PSALM 80 : 8 — 10. 

Thou hast broupjlit a vine out of Egypt; thoix hast cast out the heathen and 
planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, 
and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the 
boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. 

That was indeed a goodly vine that was transplanted from 
Egypt to Palestine, and tlie blessing that was in its clusters will 
never cease. That was also a goodly vine, that was brought 
from the old world and planted, in 1620, in this American wil- 
derness. But we will confine our attention to the Branch that 
has been growing here for one hundred and fifty years. 

We have followed the history of this Church, one hundred 
and twenty-five years, down to the period of Dr. Perkins' death, 
in the beginning of 1838. Some five or six years previous, the 
Doctor, " by reason of strength," having passed considerably be- 
yond his four score years, it was deemed advisable that he should 
have permanent assistance. Accordingly, in May, 1833, Rev. 
Caleb S. Henry was invited by the Church and Society to set- 
tle as colleague pastor with Dr. Perkins, and was installed on 
the 12th of June following. He remained less than two years, 
being dismissed March 25, 1835, the same day on which this 
house, in which we now worship, was dedicated. 

With the ministry of Mr. Henry, there seems to have arisen 
a spirit of enterprise, that has greatly improved the comforts and 
the goodly appearance of the place. First, the Lecture Room, 



22 

or " Vestry," as it was called, was erected. The following year, 
this Church was built, according to a plan presented by Solomon 
S. Flagg, in behalf of a committee, consisting of James Butler, 
Seth Talcott, Augustus Flagg, Joseph E. Cone, Solomon S. Flagg, 
Thomas Brace, Albigence Scarborough, Hezekiah Selden, Nathan 
Seymour, Ralph Wells, Morgan Goodwin, Jr., and Theron Dem- 
ing. The Building Committee were Seth Talcott, Timothy Sedg- 
wick, Samuel Whitman, Solomon S. Flagg, Ralph Wells, Mark 
Gridley, and Joseph E. Cone. It was dedicated, as before stated, 
March 25, 1835, and the dedication sermon preached by Dr. 
Perkins. In 1838, the Parsonage was built, and soon after, the 
Academy ; so that, within a period of about six or seven years, 
these four public edifices were erected, viz. the Congregational 
Lecture Room, Church, Parsonage, and the Academy. 

In 1836 and 1837, the Church and Society extended a call 
successively to Messrs. Jonathan Brace, Tertius S. Clark, and 
A. R. Baker, each of whom declined. In October, 1837, they 
save a unanimous call to Mr. Edward W. Andrews, who ac- 
cepted it, and was ordained as colleague pastor with Dr. Perkins, 
on the 15th of November, just two months before the decease of 
the latter. He continued a little more than three years, and was 
dismissed, Dec. 22, 1840. There were received to the church 
during his ministry, on profession of their faith, sixty members, — 
forty-eight of them during the year 1838. 

After considerable conflict in relation to a candidate for settle- 
ment, a unanimous call was given, in September, 1841, to Rev. 
George I. Wood, who received it favorably, and was installed 
on the 9th of November. After a ministry of about two years 
and a half, during which there were added to the church, by 
profession, thirty members, he was dismissed, June 5, 1844. 

The next pastor was Rev. Dwight M. Seward, who was in- 
stalled, Jan. 14, 1845. He remained nearly six years, when he 
was dismissed, Dec. 18, 1850. Fourteen persons were added to 



the church, by profession, during his ministry, and twenty-three 
by letter ; and besides these, several others indulged hope, and 
united with the chui'ch under the ministry of his successor. 

I have so recently given you a review of my own ministry 
here, which commenced July 1, 1852, that I will add nothing at 
the present time, except to say that there have been received to 
the church during this [)eriod, seventy-nine by profession, and 
thirty-nine by letter, and that the church at the present time 
numbers two hundred and twenty-eight members, including sev- 
enteen who are permanently absent, — eighty males, and one hun- 
dred and forty-eight females. 

The following, so far as I have been able to ascertain, is a list 
of the Deacons of the Church from the beginning, including 
those now in office, mentioned in the order of their election : — 
Abraham Merrill, William Gaylord, Daniel Webster, Abraham 
Merrill, (son of the preceding Dea. Merrill,) Thomas Hosmer, 
John Whitman, Noah Webster, (son of Dea. Daniel Webster, 
and father of Noah Webster, LL. D.,) Benjamin Gilbert, Abijah 
Colton, (son of Rev. Benjamin Colton,) Timothy Gridley, Jona- 
than B. Balch, Moses Goodman, Sen., Jedediah Mills, Moses 
Goodman, Jun., Roderick Colton, (son of Dea. Abijah Colton,) 
Hezekiah Selden, Albigence Scarborough, Josiah W. Griswold, 
Joseph E. Cone, Edward Brace, Chester Francis, George Butler. 

This was the only Church in West Hartford, until the year 
1843, when St. James' Parish (Episcopal) was constituted. The 
Baptist Church was organized in 1858. 

A small Society of Friends, or Quakers, was formed the latter 
part of the last century, but it never flourished, and continued 
only a few years. • 

In reviewing the history of this Church, we see clearly the 
wisdom of our fathers in estabhshing and maintaining it. And 
let us observe that the blessings which have flowed so abundantly 



24 

from this Cliurch, have flowed also from others of its kind, and 
thus our New England has been greatly blessed, and been a rich 
source of blessing to the whole land and the world. The first 
settlers here surely did not know all the good they were doing. 
They sought privileges for themselves and their children, and 
they secured them for many generations. They opened the 
fountains of truth, and the waters have continued to flow, purer 
and more abundant. They planted the vine, and it has continued 
to grow, and its fruit has improved from age to age. The rough 
wilderness has given place to as pleasant a rural town as the sun 
ever shone upon. We have here all the elements of prosperity, — 
the indications of a refined, intelligent, and Christian community. 
The sanctuary, with the preached gospel, has here been perma- 
nently established, and a century and a half has proved that 
" those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in 
the courts of our God." Where the gospel is faithfully preached, 
and the people are a church-going people, there intelligence pre- 
vails, schools are maintained and the children educated, industri- 
ous habits, good morals, and social order are preserved, and all 
things that are true and honest and of good report find favor ; 
and what is more, the way of holiness and eternal life is under- 
stood, and many walk therein. So it has been here. Error and 
irreligion and vice may have crept in, but they have not found a 
home here ; the Church of Christ and the Gospel of Christ have 
dwelt here, and infidelity and vice have sought concealment in 
their hiding places. There may have been many who would not 
receive the light of the gospel, but they have not prevented that 
light from shining on the community. Would this have been so 
without thi^ Church and Society, and the Sanctuary which they 
have sustained ? 

There are those who have no great respect for the organized 
Church and the worship of God, and who are seldom seen in the 
sanctuary. I should like to ask them whether, without the 



25 

Church and the preaching of the gospel, the schools would have 
been as well maintained, and intelligence and morality and hon- 
esty have been as prevalent, and privileges as abundant, and 
their property as valuable and secure, and society as desirable to 
live in, as is now the case, — to say nothing about the higher in- 
terests of the immortal soul. No, nothing like it. Without the 
sun, darkness covers the earth. Without a preached gospel, 
moral darkness is as sure to settle down on society. From the 
early settlement of the place, this church has continued to reflect 
the light of the gospel on the community, and the blessings that 
have been the result, no one can estimate. 

From time to time, individuals have withdrawn from the So- 
ciety, not in all cases for the purpose of casting in their lot with 
some other Christian enterprise, but simply for the purpose of 
separating themselves and families from the concern. They have 
doubtless acted from reasons satisfactory to themselves. We are 
often led to take steps which may seem best at the time, but the 
whole bearing and consequences of which, the result alone can 
determine. Now in carefully considering such cases, I must say, 
that I have failed to perceive any good that has come to individ- 
uals, or their families, from a separation from the House of God, 
or from the Society that supports it. I very much fear that in 
some instances, by such a step, unhappy influences have been 
entailed upon successive generations. Our Lord Jesus Christ 
loves his churches, imperfect as they are ; and upon those families 
that are in the most intimate relation to them, does He shed most 
abundantly those influences that tend to salvation. Things may 
go wrong in the Church, or in the Society, and individuals may 
have just cause to feel aggrieved ; but if the evil can not be im- 
mediately removed, it is better to bear with it, and wait patiently 
upon God, than to withdraw from the sanctuary, or from its sup- 
port, — for the blessing of God is certainly found in His house, 

and among the people who sustain it, and worship in it. And I 
4 



26 

would say to the young men, Give your hearts to Christ, profess 
your faith in Him, and enter into covenant with Him and his 
people ; and if his worship is maintained through the Ecclesiasti- 
cal Society, become members of that, and do all in your power 
to increase the blessed influences of the sanctuary of God, and 
thus prove yourselves the worthy children of those noble ances- 
tors who established and maintained it, — the one great blessing 
to the place. 

There were some principles and practices, justly deemed, in 
the light in which we view them, erroneous, which were adopted 
by this church, in common with the other churches of the New 
England Colonies. One of these was the " Half-way Covenant " 
plan. It was a lapse from the old " Congregational way " of ad- 
mitting to the church only those who gave evidence of a renewed 
heart, and it did not come into practice without the most earnest 
opposition of many of the ministers and members of the churches 
of those days. Let us note the rise of the ideas from which it 
sprung. In the early working of the New England Churches, 
there were felt to be certain difficulties, which were sure to make 
trouble, unless some method could be found to remove them. 
For example, all were required to share in the expense of support- 
ing the churches, while none but the members were allowed any 
voice in the settlement of a minister, or otherwise in the manage- 
ment of affairs. Very naturally, this was felt to be an evil that de- 
manded a remedy. And then, there was a large class of people, 
seemingly of good Christian life and character, only they could not 
profess that they had experienced the regenerating power of the 
Holy Spirit. They had been baptized, and were recognized as 
in some sense belonging to the church ; they were blameless in 
their lives, cherishing a respect for religion, and conforming, exter- 
nally at least, to all its requirements ; were doing, as was believed, 
all that they could do, only they had not been " eflPectually called" 



2f 

by the divine working, into the kingdom of Christ. This was 
believed to be unattainable through any means within their 
reach. Should such persons, and their families, be entirely ex- 
cluded from church privileges ? The opinion began to be ad- 
vanced, that they should be admitted to all the privileges of the 
church, except the right of partaking of the Lord's Supper. 
This sentiment increased, and the churches became greatly di- 
vided, until in 1657, the General Court of Massachusetts advised 
a General Council. This Council assembled at Boston, in June, 
1657 ; four delegates were appointed by the General Court of 
Connecticut. But the decision of this Council, which was in fa- 
vor of the new scheme, only increased the agitation and division 
to a greater degree. In 1662, the General Court of Massachu- 
setts convened another Council, and laid before it two questions, 
the most important of which was, " Who are the subjects of 
Baptism?" Their answer, which was mainly in accordance with 
that of the preceding Council, was drawn up in five propositions, 
the last of which was the following : " Church members who were 
admitted in minority," that is, baptized in infancy, " understand- 
ing the doctrine of faith, and publicly professing their assent 
thereto, not scandalous in life, and solemnly owning the covenant 
before the Church, wherein they give up themselves and their 
children to the Lord, and subject themselves to the government 
of Christ in the Church, their children are to be baptized." 

This is the substance of what has been called the " Half-way 
Covenant." Several of the most pious and learned members of 
the Council recorded their solemn protest against it. And 
thouD-h in Connecticut the Genei-al Court, which considered itself 
responsible for the care and direction of the Churches, favored 
the new way from the outset, yet it was a long time before the 
Churches gave up their opposition, and settled down under its 
working. In the First Church in Hartford, the conflict was se- 
vere. Rev. John Whiting and Rev. Joseph Haynes, the former 



28 

thirty-one, and the latter twenty-five years of age, were the johit 
pastors, as successors of the famous Thomas Hooker and Samue^ 
Stone. Whiting contended earnestly for the old way, and 
Haynes — with whom was a majority — for the new. There 
seemed to be little prospect of peace. Mr. Whiting and thirty- 
one members of the church withdrew, and formed what is now 
the South Church in Hartford.* 

We do not wonder at the unwillingness to give way to this in- 
novation, for it seemed like subverting the foundations of the 
church. Its tendency and design were to merge the church in 
the parish, by bringing all respectable people into the church. 
The covenant which was entered into — the half-way covenant — 
was perhaps strong enough, certainly in its terms, but it was un- 
derstood as not implying a change of heart. We can easily under- 
stand what a death-like influence it would exert, in relation to spir- 
itual religion. Many who should come thus far into the church, 
or into the kingdom of heaven, would be likely to rest there, and 
come no farther. We are not surprised that when the churches 
had come to be fully established in this new measure, they should 
be prepared for another step, viz. to admit members to full com- 
munion on the same grounds as to the other privileges of the 
church, without evidence of experimental piety. This came to 
be extensively practiced in the churches, and at length it was 
earnestly advocated by Rev, Solomon Stoddard of Northampton, 
and as earnestly opposed by his grand-son and colleague, Pi'esi- 
dent Edwards. Mr. Stoddard regarded the Lord's Supper as a 
converting ordinance, not to be denied to baptized persons, though 
they knew themselves to be unrenewed. This practice of admit- 
ting members to the church without evidence of piety, on the 
ground of a moral life, may perhaps be regarded as the principal 



* See Dr. Bacon's Historical Discourse before the General Association of Con- 
necticut, in 1859. 



29 

cause of that general deadness of the churches for more than a 
quarter of a century previous to the " great awakening," which 
began about 1735. 

The churches had come fally into the practice of the half-way 
covenant, before the formation of this church, so that there was 
here no controversy on this subject. The first reference to it on the 
records is in 1718, when fifty-two were admitted ; in 1729, fifty- 
one ; in 1748, twenty ; in 1749, twenty-one ; and in all, there 
were admitted on the half-way covenant plan, two hundred and 
eighty, besides nine recommended from other places. Only nine 
thus " owned the covenant " after the commenement of Dr. Per- 
kins' ministry, and these were during the first two or three years. 
The system here seems to have quietly fallen into disuse, for I 
find no vote abolishing it on the records. It held its influence 
over two generations, and two pastorates, and gave way to a 
more scriptural method. In the account of admissions during 
the different pastorates, these half-way covenanters were not in- 
cluded. Members admitted in this way, at least after the com- 
mencement of Mr. Hooker's ministry, were propounded for ad- 
mission, and were under the discipline of the church, the same as 
those admitted to full communion. 

The voluntary principle^ in relation to the support of religion, 
has very happily come to be fully established. No man is obliged, 
by law, to continue a member of an Ecclesiastical Society, any 
longer than he chooses. When he sees fit to withdraw, he is not 
obliged to become connected with any other Society. No man 
is even a member of any Society, until he expresses his wish 
to become such. This is right, and happy in its effects. Still, 
this does not destroy the moral obligation of men to bear their 
proportion of sustaining every system fi'om which they derive 
advantase. To illustrate : When this West Division was made 
a Society, it was under a restriction, in accordance with the re- 
quest of the Hartford Committee who presented the remon- 



30 

strance, that the lands of non-residents, and of such as chose to 
continue their connection with Hartford as before, should be ex- 
empt from taxation for Society expenses. In 1715, we find this 
Society before the General Court, praying that this restriction 
might" be removed. The lots of those non-resident owners, say 
they, are rapidly rising in value, in consequence of what those 
who reside here are expending, — and the owners seeing this, re- 
fuse to sell, waiting for a greater rise. They are receiving pe- 
cuniary benefit from us, and instead of doing any thing for us in 
return, they are injuring our Society, by holding on to their 
lands, and so keeping away new settlers. Besides, we who have 
property in town pay rates there, and why should not the people 
in town, who have property here, pay rates here ? Moreover, 
they continue, the restriction tends to make turmoil ; for if any 
resident becomes disaffected, he has but to move his residence a 
few rods, over our bounds, and he enjoys all the benefits of our 
Society, and is exempt fi'om any of the expenses. 

These points were well taken ; and they prove that your pious 
forefathers, who founded this town, saw clearly the true princi- 
ples, and were able to assert them. It is a manifest principle of 
justice, that every individual who is benefited, in property or 
otherwise, from the influence of a church, or a school, or any 
other institution, should be willing, to the same extent, to bear 
his proportion of the burden of sustaining such institution. Now 
let our churches and schools be annihilated: Would not the dis- 
astrous effects soon reach the interests, even of those who never 
appear in the house of God, or who have no children to be edu- 
cated? But we are all glad that Religion stands on its own 
foundation, — that no one is compelled to do any thing for its 
maintenance, farther than his own inclination or sense of duty 
may lead him to do so. The rights and liberties and duties of 
the people, in relation to ecclesiastical matters, are more happily 
adjusted now than in the early history of our country. For ex- 



31 

ample, none are compelled to support a form of worship which 
they dislike, nor indeed any form. And they who furnish the 
funds can, through the Ecclesiastical Society, have the full con- 
trol and disposal of those funds. And as to those good people 
who have never been renewed from above, they are taught, more 
clearly we think than formerly, the way into the holiest of all, 
by Jesus Christ, and qualified by their entrance there, they are 
invited to the full communion of the saints ; while they under- 
stand that if they have not known Christ, they can not enter 
even the outer court of his temple. 

Time has wrought changes, and in some respects, improve- 
ments. Manners and customs have changed. A century and a 
quarter ago, the laws made the minister almost supreme in his 
own parish, in matters of religion. No man, clergyman or other- 
wise, might hold a meeting within the geographical limits of his 
parish, without his consent.* 

At the beginning of Mr. Hooker's pastorate, the Church voted, 
" that the Saybrook Platform, established by law and founded on 
Scripture, shall be the rule the church shall be governed by in 
matters of order and discipline ; and that neither the church nor 
minister shall have power to act separately." It was provided 
that when pastor and church disagreed, a Council should be called 
for advice, and then, if the disagreement continued, another 
Council for final decision. In those days, the discipline of the 
church appears to have been thoroughly attended to. And here 
originated the appointment of a Standing Committee in this 



* la Mr. Hooker's day, a member of the church having invited a Separatist, or 
Strict Congregational minister to preach within the parish, the Church " Voted and 
resolved, that it is a disorderly thing, worthy of censure, and what this Church will 
not countenance, for any of its members to invite and to introduce into any part of 
this parish Separate preachers, to preach and hold forth to the people against the 
express disapprobation of the pastor, or without his express approbation, or the 
consent of the Church." 



32 

church ; and as the design and business of that committee ap- 
pear in this first appointment, and as these seem to me important, 
let me call your attention to them. The pastor^ it would appear, 
had formerly been relied on to take the initiatory steps in cases of 
discipline for public scandal, but the impropriety of this had be- 
come apparent. We find in the records, under date of June 26, 
1765, this entry : " As there seems to be no propriety in a min- 
ister's being an informing officer to the church," etc., " there 
was in the year 1758, such a vote as this passed," designed to 
relieve him from bringing cases of discipline before the church, 
unless there should be a written complaint brought to him against 
some member ; but there was an omission or oversight, for no- 
body was made responsible for looking after cases of scandal, and 
makincf complaint, or as is recorded, " in which vote there is no 
provision made for sundry inconveniences that may arise from 
there being none to take cognizance of open and scandalous 
crimes, it is therefore voted by this church, that there be a Church 
Committee, to be chosen as often as the church thinks fit, whose 
business it shall be to exhibit a charge, as a committee, in all fla- 
crrant instances of [immorality] , and when any member is pub- 
licly " — that is, by rumor, " impeached of scandalous immorality, 
or convicted of the same in a civil court, the committee shall in- 
quire into the matter," etc. ; that is, in all cases where members 
are reputed to be walking disorderly, where their character suf- 
fers, and the character of the church suffers through them ; all 
cases where the offense is not against some individual ; in all 
cases, where it is every body's business, and so practically no- 
body's, — the Committee shall make investigation. They are ap- 
pointed for the very purpose, not of receiving complaints, but of 
keeping an out-look upon the church, with a view to take the 
initiatory steps, in all cases where there is need of discipline for 
public offenses. The appointment was made, because there was 
none to take cognizance of such offenses. The pastor might re- 



33 

ceive complaints, but there were none Avho were responsible for 
looking into the matter, and bringing complaint when necessary ; 
and to supply this want, the Standing Committee were appointed. 
They are properly a Committee of Discipline^ to attend to this 
very thing. If the discipline of the church is neglected, they 
are responsible for the neglect. If, in course of time, that com- 
mittee has come to fill the somewhat more comprehensive office 
of Prudential Committee, the discipline of the church is one of 
the most important prudential things for them to consider. But 
I have given you the one design for which they were originally 
appointed. 

This church has generally been alive to its responsibilities and 
duties. We find it, a hundred years ago, taking measures, by 
vote, to excite the young to a more diligent study of the Scrip- 
tures, and to awaken a more general interest in theological topics. 
The Sabbath School was established here in 1819, and has con- 
tinued to the present time, with a good degree of prosperity. 
And the faithful laborers in this field may feel assured that they 
have aided largely in the prosperity of the church, and the well- 
being of the community, and that when they rest from their la- 
bors, their works will follow them. 

The church has been greatly blessed with revivals of religion, 
and the Divine influence has been manifest throughout its entire 
history. 

This people have taken hold of the various objects of Chris- 
tian benevolence, with a steady, and we think with increasing 
zeal. Not alone this small town, but the worlds has been blessed 
by its influence.* 



* The church has raised up and sent forth to preach the gospel of salvation, no 
less than nineteen ministers, faithful men, and some of them eminent in their Mas- 
ter's service, viz. Eli Colton and George Colton, (sons of the first pastor, — the lat- 
ter for nearly fifty years the far-famed pastor of the church in Bolton,) Eliphalet 

6 



34 

But I must close. Until within twenty years, as before re- 
marked, this was the only Christian church in the place.* And 
through the grace of God, it has nobly fulfilled the mission of a 
Christian church here. It has not been the embodiment of a 
sect, but the brotherhood of the disciples of Christ in the commu- 
nity. In this respect, it has been like the churches in the times 
of the apostles. We hear nothing of the Congregational, or 
Methodist, or Episcopal, or Baptist church, in Corinth, or Ephe- 
sus, or Philippi, — but of the Church in those places. And this 
was not instituted as the Congregational church, but " the Church 
of Christ in West Hartford." And it was designed to embrace 
all the disciples of Christ in this community, who should seek 
admission to its communion. It holds Christ as the Head, and 
calls no man master ; and it excludes from its communion no one 
who furnishes evidence that Christ has received him, though his 
views may differ in unessential particulars, from those of a ma- 
jority of the members. If a person rejects the essential doctrines 
of the gospel of Christ, we can not of course regard liim as a 
disciple of Christ. But all whom we regard as Christian disci- 
ples, we receive to our church and communion. And here all 
Christian souls may walk together in the ways of God, enjoy 
full liberty of conscience and opinion, and sit together at the ta- 



Steele, Marshfield Steele, Jonathan Belden, Nathan Perkins, Jr., (son of the tlnrd 
pastor,) George Colton and Chester Colton, (sons of Dea. Abijah Colton, and grand- 
sons of the first pastor, the former of whom has several sons in the ministry,) Harry 
Croswell, D. D., Joab Brace, D. D., Epaphras Goodman, Reuben Porter, Evelyn 
Sedgwick, Seymour M. Spencer, Richard Woodruff, Amzi Francis, Elihu Mason, 
Austin Isham, Hiram Elmer, and probably several others. In other professions and 
pursuits, many of the sons of West Hartford have honorably discharged the duties 
of life in various parts of the land. Some of them, as for example the world-re- 
nowned Noah Webster, LL. D., have become highly distinguished in their respec- 
tive departments. 

* And no other place of worship was permanently established until about twelve 
years ago. 



35 

ble of their Lord, in the highest act of Christian communion. 
We are not therefore a sect. Our affairs are manacred by the 
brethren themselves, who are all equal in authority. We are 
bound by Christian aflPection to Christ and to one another, and 
under this bond we find our security and our Christian liberty. 
And thus, substantially, from the first, has this church ])ursued 
its course, enjoying the most precious tokens of the Divine love. 
And thus it is still pursuing its course. If any think they have 
found a better way, one that tends more to peace, and fellowship, 
and sanctification, and effectiveness in the work of Christ, — one 
that more nearly accords with the mind of Christ, — we can only 
pray that they may receive fully of his spirit, and enjoy his love. 
But for ourselves, we prefer to walk in the good old paths which 
our pious fathers trod, leaving behind any thing which may be 
found erroneous or hurtful, and to teach our children to love 
those ways, and walk in them, while we seek for them a richer 
legacy even than that which we received from the honored ones 
who have gone before us. 



" October 12, 1710. 
" To the Honored General Assembly note sitting in New Haven. 

" The petition of the inhabitants of tliat part of the town of Hartford, com- 
monly called by the name of the West Division, showeth : — That your petitioners, 
being by the providence of God settled something remote from the town of Hart- 
ford, do desire the liberty to call or settle, as we may see meet, a minister amongst 
us to carry on the public worship of God, for which we offer these reasons to your 
Honors' consideration: — 

" 1. The distance from the places is such that a good part of God's time is spent 
traveling backwards and forwards, which if otherwise we might spend in his ser- 
vice to our comfort. 

" 2. The difficulties of the way that many times must be encountered with, as 
bad traveling underfoot, uncomfortableness overhead, and a river not seldom dif- 
ficult, sometimes impassable ; which things render the way not only difficult, but 
sometimes impracticable. 

"3. That oxn- small children may be present at the pubhc worship of God, and 
not be brought up in darkness in such a land of light as this is, but may be in- 
structed in the doctrine of the gospel. 

" 4. Is the difficulties of leaving them, unguarded at home, especially in danger- 
ous times, whereby we do not only expose them to their own fears, but to our en- 
emies' rage, or in hazard thereof 

" These things, with the reasons offered, we desire may not only be taken in seri- 
ous consultation, but also that we may have a present affirmative result and appro- 
bation ; and your humble petitioners shall ever pray. Which is the humble request 
of your humble petitioners. 

(Signed.) "Thomas Olmsted, David Ensign, Sen., John Watson, Sen., Nath. 
Arnold, Joseph Butler, Lamrock Flower, Simon Smith, John Merrill, Joseph Gil- 
let, Abraham Menill, John Webster, Jonathan Bull, Abel Merrill, Thomas Steel, 
Samuel Sedgwick, Samuel Kellogg, Thomas Morgan, David Ensign, Jun., Cor- 
nelius Merry, James Williams, Samuel Shepherd, Thomas Shepherd, William 
Gaylord, John Scot, Paul Peck, John Peck, Esther Bull, John Watson, Jun." 



38 

This petition was referred to a Committee for investigation, as appears from the 
following vote : 

''Voted in the Loicer House, That Lieut. Col. Matthew Allyn, John Moore, Esq. 
and Mr. Eetnrn Strong of Windsor, or any two of them, are a Committee appointed 
by this Comt, to inspect the reasonableness of this petition, and make their report 
to this Assembly in May next, to be done at the expense of the inhabitants of the 
West Division; the said Committee to treat with the town of Hartford and the 
West Division, endeavoring to bring them to a compliance. 

"Test. ROGEE WOLCOTT, aerfe. 
" Passed in the Upper House. 

"Test. . C. STANLEY, Sec'yr 

At the next session of the Legislature, a remonstrance was presented by the 
town of Hartford, as follows: 

" To the Hon. Governor, and Council, and Representatives, now sitting in Hartford, 

May 10, 17 n. 

" Whereas the town of Hartford have by their vote at their annual town meet- 
ing, Dec. 19, 1710, made choice of us the subscribers, to lay before this Hon. As- 
sembly the inconveniency of granting a petition exhibited in this Court, in Octo- 
ber last past, by the inhabitants belonging to a certain place called the West Di- 
vision in Hartford, and in pursuance of the trust reposed in us by the said town, 
do humbly offer to this General Assembly's consideration : Imprimis, that there 
are already three settled ministers of the gospel in the town of Hartford, and if 
that we have a fourth, it would much disenable us to maintain them already set- 
tled amongst us, and do much stand in need of their continuance with us as j'et, 
especially considering the extraordinary charge of the Colony which hath been, 
and still lieth upon us; and we would pray your Honors (as we hope we do) [to] 
consider their own inability at this present juncture of difBculty, to maintain the 
public worship of God by themselves. And as to the distance they complain of, 
in our apprehension [it] is no other than what is common in almost all the planta- 
tions and towns in the Colony, and not further to travel than the settlements 
at Windsor, Wethersfield, New Haven, Saybrook, and many others ; neither is 
the way more difficult; and upon these considerations can not be willing to part 
with our neighbors of the West Division; but if this Hon. Court will oveiTule so 
as to grant their petition, we humbly offer and entreat that it may be with these 
restrictions, viz., that those that desire to continue with us may pay to their respec- 
tive ministers where th(>y now belong ; that all the land lying in the West Division 
belonging to persons living in the town may pay to the ministers in the town ; and 
that all the land lying in the town belonging to those living in the West Division 



39 

may also pay to the ministers in the town. All which we submit with all due re- 
gards to your Honors' wise consideration. We desire Mr. Richard Edwards may 
have liberty in our behalf to offer what may concern the premises. 

JOSEPH TALCOTT, 
R'D LORD, 
CYPRIAN NICHOLS, 
AARON COOK.- 

The report of the Committee, to whom the matter was referred for investigation, 
was as follows: 

" To the Honorable General Court sitting at Hartford, May 10, 1711. 

" Whereas the subscribers were by order of the Hon. Gen'l Court holden at 
New Haven, Oct. 12, 1710, ordered and appointed to treat with the inhabitants of 
Hartford upon the matters of the petition, and endeavor to bring them to a willing- 
ness and consent thereunto, and also to consider the reasonableness of the petition 
of the inhabitants of the West Division of Hartford, and the ability of the petition- 
ers to maintain a minister: In pursuance of the order of the Hon. Court, and also 
upon the desire of the inhabitants in general of said Division, did on the 30th of 
November last past, go upon the place, and by the best information we could get, 
the inhabitants there upon the spot were 27 [families], — the number of souls 164, 
besides seven houses newly built, and the families belonging to them come, or are 
likely to come shortly. The furlong of lots, as we are informed, will contain about 
90 families, with about 60 acres to each family. We further inform this Honorable 
Court that on the 19th of December last past we went to Hartford, and showed 
our commission, and labored with them to come to a compliance with their neigh- 
bors, by the best arguments we could use ; all that we could obtain was such an 
answer as was granted to the inhabitants on the east side of the Great river, as may 
be seen by the record. As to the reasonableness of their petition, we can not but 
apprehend, (with submission to your Honors,) that the people are in a way of duty, 
to look after a liberty of enjoyment of the ordinances amongst them, considering 
the distance they live, and the ability they are at present in, and likely to be a con- 
siderable more. 

MATTH. ALLYN, 

JOHN MOORE." 



